Jefferson Shreve, new owner of the property on U.S. 31 and Thompson Road.

The old Holidome lobby has seen its better days. The glass dome has been broken for years and heavily contributed to the water damage. Neglect, fires and looters have also contributed to the building’s demise.

While looking down on the lobby from the balcony, the evidence of one of the fires set by squatters is obvious. No area of the hotel seems to be untouched by vagrants, looters and deterioration.

By Denise M. SummersSouthsider Voice editor

Storage Express has acquired the former Holiday Inn property at the corner of U.S. 31 and Thompson Road and is razing the building to make room for offices, restaurants and a self-storage facility. Storage Express is owned by Southsider Jefferson Shreve, who started the company 25 years ago. Shreve serves on the Indianapolis City-County Council, where he represents the portion of Perry Township where the blighted property is located. He is working with Indy-based Sitehawk Realty to secure the restaurant deals. Storage Express, which develops and manages 87 storage facilities throughout Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee, purchased the nearly 9-acre site at a lender-ordered auction in October. The company worked feverishly on the environmental testing while securing the necessary permits before demolition could commence.

Opened in 1966 as a Holiday Inn, the hotel was later remodeled into Holidome. When it no longer met the branding standards of Holiday Inn, it became a Ramada Inn, and for a short time was a Cavalier Inn. The property fell into foreclosure in 2011 and has been vacant and deteriorating for several years. Shreve noted that the property had become not only an eyesore and a public safety menace but also an obstacle to economic revitalization at a very visible gateway to the Southside.

The Marion County Health department had ordered that it be boarded up two years ago. Two fires were set within the property by squatters last year. Others had broken in to collect scrap copper and anything else of value since the property fell into the hands of a bank in Texas. The once-upscale hotel shows no sign of its heyday, when its conference center was busy and the bar offered live entertainment on weekends. The water and fire damage and looting have left the building in disrepair.

Shreve’s company has contracted locally based Casey-Bertram Demolition to raze the building; work began last week and should be completed by March 1.

“The hotel was built with steel-reinforced concrete floors and walls,” Shreve said. “Though it’s in terrible shape – and leaks like a sieve – it is not going to be an easy or cheap demo job.” The concrete structure is going to be crushed on-site, and most of the by-products will be used to provide a base for the redevelopment and not wind up in a landfill. This is the most ecologically friendly way to bring a structure like this down, he noted.

“I’ve enjoyed some success with my business over the years. I’m in business to earn a profit. But the developments that are hands-down the most fun are those that take a blighted property like this and clear the way for economic renewal. We’re building a new facility on West Washington Street right now with what was the site of an even bigger eyesore for years ... the old Shrum’s Mobile Homes salvage business. Projects like these are a lot of work. But the reward matches the work, and I feel lucky to have an opportunity to tackle a project like this one in my own backyard.”

Former Southsider Kathy Jones tools around on Silver Bay, near her home in Sitka, Alaska.

Jones likes to feed table scraps to rescued bears.

Actor Kevin Costner stopped in for dinner at the hotel, where Jones prepared him a sample of her aged manhattans.

By Sherri ConerSouthsider Voice correspondent

Moving from Indiana to Alaska required an adventurous spirit and a good sense of humor. Thankfully, former Southsider Kathy Jones, possesses both traits.“It is definitely an adjustment from city life,” said Jones of her new venture.“Sitka is a small fishing village on an island. You can either fly in via Alaska Airlines or get here by ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway.”

With a population of 8,600, Sitka boasts only one main road and two stoplights, no chain stores, no fancy restaurants and a handful of hole-in-the-wall bars. So Jones orders a lot of what she needs through Amazon. “Everyone here still has a landline phone,” Jones said. “And sometimes, I feel like I am living in the 1980s.” The whirlwind from Hoosiers to Northern Exposure came so fast that Jones barely had time to talk herself out of the trip.

Less than a month after a job interview on the phone, Jones found herself knee-deep in her new experience. On May 1, 2013, she hit the ground running as executive chef for the Totem Square Hotel and Westmark Hotel. Her first glimpse of employment in Alaska also paralleled with peak season for tourism. From May through September, 300,000 guests crowded the island. A few of them were even celebrities, such as Kevin Cosner, who brought his fishing gear to the island and his appetite to Jones.Jones takes all of the stress in stride. That calm confidence might be directly related to the fact that she is living her passion.

Since the age of 5, this easygoing adventurer has been in love with all things culinary. Her first job entailed washing dishes at a restaurant. And Jones worked her way up, owning a couple of eateries, managing others and then working for five years as executive chef for Iozzo’s Garden of Italy Restaurant on the Southside. “To prepare a dish for someone and see their enjoyment and excitement is awesome,” she said. “There are very few jobs that you can get instant gratification like that.”

Now that tourism season has ended, Jones is adjusting to the winter months, primarily spent in the dark. An 8:40 a.m. sunrise and a 3:30 p.m. sunset is a difficult adjustment. “I have increased my daily dosage of Vitamin A.” Since Jones spent her childhood in southwest Florida, she appreciates island life and has purchased two small boats.

“Every chance I get, I’m out on the water,” she said. Sitka is in the southeast area of Alaska, so we are actually in a rain forest. The temperature here is mild compared to Indiana this time of year. It only drops below freezing for maybe 18 days a year. But it’s hard to get used to the rain.”In her free time, Jones tools around in her boat and volunteers at the Fortress of the Bears, a rescue center. “I donate my food scraps to the bears. And my time, too, when I can. It’s always fun to watch the bears eat and play.”

Preparing for the new challenge required Jones to sell nearly everything she owned. And that was not an easy task. But being so far away from loved ones is the most challenging part. Her address in Alaska won’t be permanent, though. This wanderer has another plan under her chef hat.“Our plan is to stay in Sitka for five years,” Jones said. “Then we are off to Florida. I love the nature here, but I have discovered that I am an ocean-blue person, not rain-forest green.

Even with the lack of sunshine, the long flights back to Indiana for short visits and those grueling workdays during tourist season, Jones is still OK with her decision.

“I have been blessed with the guts to just pick up and do these crazy things,” she said. “But I am more blessed that I have the most wonderful lifetime partner in the world. Holly has been the most supportive person. And I have a lot of cool friends who help me get through. Life is good!”